Joan Fontaine Hand Signed Autographed Portrait Photograph Vintage Early Career
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:1166541 | Size: 8 x 10 |
| Movie: N/A | Modified Item: No |
| Signed by: Joan Fontaine | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
| Autograph Authentication: Not Authenticated |
Thanks to all our eBay bidders! We are honored to be your one-stop, 5-star source for vintage pin up, pulp magazines, original illustration art, decorative collectibles and ephemera with a wide and always changing assortment of antique and vintage items from the Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Mid-Century Modern eras. All items are 100% guaranteed to be original, vintage, and as described. Please feel free to contact us with any and all questions about the items and our p...olicies and please take a moment to peruse our other great eBay listings. All sell no reserve!
Though the decades-long feud she had with sister Olivia De Havilland has shone light on Joan Fontaine’s penchant to at turns be difficult and grudge-holding, the actress was tremendously giving to her fans. Up to her death in 2014, she responded personally--at times in great detail--to individuals who wrote her asking for pictures, autographs, and reminiscences from her life in the pictures.
Among those who reached out to Fontaine and were rewarded for their efforts was William Studer, an Albert Lea, Minnesota man who passionately collected all things Joan.
Along with vintage photographs, signed books, and even personal Christmas cards, Studer also amassed a tremendous collection of clippings, correspondence with friends and colleagues of Joan Fontaine that shed light into her personality, and memorabilia.
We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer pieces from this one-of-a-kind collection.
ITEM: This is a 1937 vintage and original RKO studio photograph of Joan Fontaine. This sporty and fresh faced portrait offers up an early career view of the exceptional actress which she has signed. Signed in green ink lower right. We do not have a 3rd party COA but guarantee this to have been signed by Joan Fontaine. Notation to back shows this was signed at the Hollywood Bowl on July 9, 1940.
The younger sister of actress Olivia de Havilland, the two famously feuded and remained estranged their whole lives. Apart from acting, Fontaine was also a licensed pilot, champion balloonist, expert rider, prize-winning tuna fisherman, a hole-in-one golfer, Cordon Bleu chef, and licensed interior decorator.
Measures 7.75" x 9.75" on a matte double weight paper stock.
Ink stamp and handwritten notations on verso.
CONDITION: Fine condition, a little handling wear. Please use the included images as a conditional guide.
••••••••••••••••••••
Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de Havilland's recurring ailments the family moved to California in the hopes of improving their health. Mrs. de Havilland and the two girls settled in Saratoga while their father went back to his practice in Japan. Joan's parents did not get along well and divorced soon afterward. Mrs. de Havilland had a desire to be an actress but her dreams were curtailed when she married, but now she hoped to pass on her dream to Olivia and Joan. While Olivia pursued a stage career, Joan went back to Tokyo, where she attended the American School. In 1934 she came back to California, where her sister was already making a name for herself on the stage. Joan likewise joined a theater group in San Jose and then Los Angeles to try her luck there. After moving to L.A., Joan adopted the name of Joan Burfield because she didn't want to infringe upon Olivia, who was using the family surname. She tested at MGM and gained a small role in No More Ladies (1935), but she was scarcely noticed and Joan was idle for a year and a half. During this time she roomed with Olivia, who was having much more success in films. In 1937, this time calling herself Joan Fontaine, she landed a better role as Trudy Olson in You Can't Beat Love (1937) and then an uncredited part in Quality Street (1937). Although the next two years saw her in better roles, she still yearned for something better. In 1940 she garnered her first Academy Award nomination for Rebecca (1940). Although she thought she should have won, (she lost out to Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle (1940)), she was now an established member of the Hollywood set. She would again be Oscar-nominated for her role as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth in Suspicion (1941), and this time she won. Joan was making one film a year but choosing her roles well. In 1942 she starred in the well-received This Above All (1942). The following year she appeared in The Constant Nymph (1943). Once again she was nominated for the Oscar, she lost out to Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (1943). By now it was safe to say she was more famous than her older sister and more fine films followed. In 1948, she accepted second billing to Bing Crosby in The Emperor Waltz (1948). Joan took the year of 1949 off before coming back in 1950 with September Affair (1950) and Born to Be Bad (1950). In 1951 she starred in Paramount's Darling, How Could You! (1951), which turned out badly for both her and the studio and more weak productions followed. Absent from the big screen for a while, she took parts in television and dinner theaters. She also starred in many well-produced Broadway plays such as Forty Carats and The Lion in Winter. Her last appearance on the big screen was The Witches (1966) and her final appearance before the cameras was Good King Wenceslas (1994). She is, without a doubt, a lasting movie icon.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson
••••••••••••••••••••
